SipiiifPiPl'nSiipiiiiiiiiiiiiiii JS||liBIIiliili||ill( ii|||iliiiiiilis|« PilpliiiiilB^^^ iiiliiipiiilii;|li|iiiSilp^ is|g|!i§sj|ryipBK llipiyi|iiiigipliliiiHii^ g|p|l|lpi|p|pi|ni|||||;i|:|^^^ v^ ^^^%'^" .5^^^, .«'-'*^ °«-' •/ X'-m^'^'' %-'f>^'j' X'Wt'\^'' „0 :>:^':>::^x:^:v<:i-i::;\.-V >-.:^-/^^ * %/ :' ^'^^^ - .;-^_^,. A TT* A :..r../X **\c:^-,V /.i^J^'>. ,v*^ %' o' -^' \>.^^ ,^^'"-^ •V V, ^.s V *o^---T.T. > \ •. •^.. ..^ ."^Wa- *<?, J>" : The Dover (N. H.) Physicians. I?.E.A.ID BEFOIiE THE N, H. MEDICAL SOCIETY, JUNE 17. 1879, Rt JOHN RANDOLPH HAM, m. d. OF DOVER. CONCORD riMNTKI) in- EA AN- i; \M> Kv.ws. sANi'.(n;\"s r.LOCK. 1879. : C^'256 Cp ¥l]e ©ovei^ (X. H.) Pl^y^idkri^^. IIE-A.ID BEFOI^E THE N. H, MEDICAL SOCIETY JUNE 17, 1879. By J0H:N^ RANDOLPH HAM, m. d. OF DOVER. 1879 ^f^\ CONCORD PRINTED BY EVANS. Sl.EEPEU AND EVANS, SANBOBN'S BLOCK. [879. rr DOVER (N. H.) PHYSICIAIS^S. BY JOHN RANDOLPH H.\M, M. D., OF DOVER. The following sketch of the Physicians of Dover, N. H., is de- signed to embrace the name of every regular physician who has practiced in Dover, whenever existing records have preserved a trace. The names are arranged in the supposed order of settlement, and the date prefixed to each indicates the earliest year in which the phy- sician is known to have been in practice in Dover. 1 63 1. Dr. Renald Fernald, sent out to New Hampshire by Capt. John Mason, of England, in 1631, was the first physician and surgeon among the New Hampshire settlers. He resided at Portsmouth, N. H., but was only five miles below the settlement at Hilton's (now Dover) Point. He was undoubtedly physician to the Dover settlement 'till his death in 1656. 1684. Dr. John Buss was born in 1640, and was an educated physician. He began the practice of medicine at Wells, Me., in 1672, and, although it does not appear that he was ever ordained, preached to that people, in addition to his medical practice. In 1684 he moved to Dover, and settled in the Oyster River parish ; practiced medicine and preached in that parish 'till 1 7 1 8, when he retired. In the attack upon the Oyster River par- ish by the Indians, 18 July, 1694, his house, with a valuable library, was destroyed by fire ; he was absent at the time, and his wife and children fled to the woods. The parish of Oyster River became the town of Durham in 1732 ; he died in Durham in 1736. 1 71 7. Dr. Thomas Alden was practicing in Dover as early as Dec. 28, 171 7, when he witnessed the will of Judge John Tuttle. He was surgeon in 1722 to a company of soldiers that cut a road from Dover to Lake Winnipisaukee ; and had land laid out to him, July 4, 1723, by the town of Dover. He was found dead in the highway, at his horse's feet, March 8, 1732, having a deep wound in his head, supposed to have been received, in his fall, from a glass bottle which he held in his right hand ; one of 4 NEW HAMPSHIRE MEDICAL SOCIETY. his legs was broken, and he was frozen stiff. His widow, Elizabeth, returned an inventory of ^170, 4s, lod. 1 718. Dr. Jonathan Crosbee was practicing in Dover as early as 22 Oct., 1718, at which date he bought of James and Mary Burnham 18 acres of land in the Oyster River parish. He sold his Oyster River property, 18 Sept., 1722, to Joseph and ^ Samuel Smith, and moved to/j over Ne ck, where he bought of Joshua Cromwell 12 acres of land, 21 Oct., 1723. He had wife, Hannah, and the dates of birth of their children begin in 1719 on the town records ; with his second wife, Mary, he sold his dwell- ing-house and land, on Dover Neck, to Nicholas Hartford, 16 July, 1 731, and probably left Dover. 1720. Dr. Samuel Merrow, son of Henry Merrow, was born in Reading, Mass., 9 Oct., 1670 (o. s). He began to practice medicine in Dover, in about 1720, and was in practice there as late as 1733. He lived in the Oyster River parish, now Durham ; moved to Rochester, N. H., and died there about 1740. 1729. Dr. Thomas Miller was practicing in Dover as early as 1729 ; the dates of baptism of his children, on the church records, beginning in that year. He was appointed in 1745, by the House and Council, Surgeon of the N. H. regiment, under Col. Moore, in the Louisburg expedition. He lived in the parish of Somersworth, which parish became the town of Somersworth in 1754, and died in Somersworth; the administration of his es- tate was granted to John Gage, of Dover, June 30, 1762. His estate was appraised at ^1126, 6s, iid. ^735- Dr. Cheney Smith was practicing in Dover as early as 1735. He married Eunice, daughter of Capt. Thomas Baker, of Dover, and lived on the corner of Pleasant and Silver streets. He was Assistant Surgeon of Col. Nathaniel Me- serve's N. H. regiment in 1757, in the Crown Point expedition. He died about 1759, leaving five daughters, and one son (Cheney) who died a soldier in the Revolution. Tradition says Dr. Smith prescribed for himself a little grog several times a day, so often, indeed, that the doses often unfitted him for prescribing for others. 1735. ^^- Moses Carr was born 25 Nov. 1715 (o. s.), in Newbury, Mass.; began the practice of medicine in 1735 in Dover ; married Mary, daughter of Paul GeiTish, of Dover, DOVER PHYSICIANS. 5 and lived in the parish of Somersworth. In addition to his medical practice, he was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1776 to 1784. He practiced, with reputation, 'till within a few years of his death, which occurred ;^o March, 1800. 1759. Dr. Moses Howe was in practice in Dover as early as 1759, the dates of baptism of his children beginning in that year. He was elected Moderator of a town-meeting in 1766. He died in Dover, "of bleeding," Nov. 2, 1776. 1762. Dr. Ebenezer Noyes was born in 1739, in Newbury, Mass., and was graduated in 1759 from Nassau Hall, Princeton, N. J. ; studied medicine, and began to practice in Dover, about 1762, and practiced until his death, which occurred Aug. 3, 1767. His tombstone, which is standing near Col. John Waldron's burial- ground, above Garrison Hill, Dover, gives the date of death as above, while Coffin's History of Newbury says he died the nth of August. 1767. Dr. Ezra Green was born June 17, 1746 (o. s.), in Maiden, Mass. ; was graduated from Harvard in College 1765 ; studied medicine with Dr. Sprague, of Maiden, Mass. ; settled in Dover as a physician in 1767. In June, 1775, on the Sunday after the battle of Bunker Hill, he joined the N. H. regiment under Col. Reed, on Winter Hill in Charlestown, as Surgeon ; and served 'till the winter of 1776, when he left the army and returned to Dover. He was commissioned, in Oct., 1777, as Surgeon of the ship-of-war Ranger, under the command of Capt. John Paul Jones, and on Nov. i , sailed for France, and was in the engagement with the Drake. The Ranger returned to Portsmouth, N. H., in Oct., 1778, and Dr. Green left her and returned to Dover. He married, 13 Dec, 1778, Susanna, daughter of Reuben Hayes, of Dover; sailed again as Surgeon of the Ranger m March, 1779, and left her again in July, 1779. He sailed in 1780, as Surgeon of the Alex- ander, axid remained in her 'till the autumn of 1 781, when his revolutionary service ended. At the close of the war, he relin- quished his medical practice to his friend and successor, Dr. Jacob Kittredge, to whom he gave his books, medicines and surgi- cal instruments, and then commenced a mercantile business in Dover. He was the first Postmaster of Dover, and he held the Dover, office several years ; was chosen Deacon of First Church, in 1790, and served 'till 1829; was a member of the State 6 NEW HAMPSHIRE iSIEDICAL SOCIETY. Convention, in June, 178S, which adopted the Constitution of the United States; and he died in'i:)over, 2sJuly, 1847, aged loi years and 27 days. Wigglesworth, son of Rev. Samuel Wig- 1 768. Dr Samuel grad- glesworth, of Ipswich, Mass., was born 25 Aug., 1734 ; was uated from Han-ard College in 1752 ; was teacher of the Ipswich Grammar School from May 6, 1755, to May 2, 1759; studied medicine and began practice in Ipswich, Mass. ; and was in the practice of medicine in Dover about 1768. He lived on Central street, Dover, in the building next south of the present Belknap church, which house he, with his brother John, a trader in Dover, sold in 1 771 to John Wentworth, Jr. He was Surgeon of Col. John Waldron's regiment in the winter of 1775-6; was teaching the Pine Hill school, Dover, in the summer of 1776, in addition to his medical practice ; and was Surgeon of Col. Joshua Win- gate's regiment in 1776-7. He married, 9 Sept., 1779, Mary, daughter of George Waldron, of Dover, and niece of Capt. Thomas Westbrook Waldron, and next lived on the spot where the present Episcopal church now stands, on Central street, Dover. He left Dover as early as 1792, and settled in Lee, N. H., where he died about 1800.